Out of his Shadow
by Oreocat155338
Summary: After living his whole life being identified by someone else -The Flying Grayson's, Bruce Wayne, Batman- Robin decides he's had enough. He runs away from home, leaving only the keys to his private training room as an explanation. Will he be brought back to Wayne Manor, or will he thrive on his own? -POV change between chapters-
1. Prologue

Dick paced his room.

"Batmans smarter!" Wally's voice echoed in his head. He gritted his teeth, barely glancing at his half-finished homework. He doesn't want to be Batman, but he doesn't want to constantly be compared to his mentor.

He knew Wally hadn't meant anything by it, but he could see it in people's eyes. They honestly believed it. It wasn't like he tried to outshine Batman, but it was hard to show them what **he** was capable of when no one really wanted him around.

"Batman's smarter." He muttered under his breath. "Why have Robin when you can have Batman. Never mind that Robin can hack Batman. No." He looked at his homework again, and sat down.

He pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind and work on his homework. After ten minutes, he'd only done five problems. He climbed out of his chair, and walked out of the room, knowing that he wouldn't be able to focus on his homework.

"Master Dick, have you completed your homework already?" Alfred asked, and Dick looked at the butler, knowing full well that he couldn't lie to his butler.

"No." He admitted. "I was heading to the Batcave to exercise a bit so my mind would be more relaxed and it'd be easier to focus on my homework." Alfred looked at Dick, before nodding.

"You have half an hour." Alfred said, heading down the hallway. Dick hurried to the Batcave as fast as he could without running. When he got down there, he saw a note from Bruce.

 _When your done with your homework, work on your hacking._ Dick gritted his teeth, before heading over to his workout area that he knew had no security cameras. He looked at the walls, where over the years he had recored every instance of him being compared to his mentor, or his mentor being wanted above him.

It hadn't been like that when he'd first started. They'd fawned over him and called him cute, but once the novelty of it wore off, they started comparing him to Bruce. It had gotten old real fast, until he got to the point where he started to purposefully avoid the League to avoid their words.

 _"It would've taken me longer to find Batman. Luckily, I was only playing with Robin."_ Had been the first. Green Lantern hadn't been aware that he was where he could hear him, and everything had gotten downhill from there. He could remember one time when Barry had hunted him down to talk to him.

 _"Look, I know that you're upset about being compared to Bruce. I understand that. You remember back when I first started as the Flash? Everyone kept comparing me to Jay, and it was like they didn't notice me for what_ _ **I'd**_ _done._

 _"I'm not going to pretend I know exactly what your going through, being in the shadow of the Bat, but I've got a good idea. I promise I won't compare you to him, not now, not ever. If you wanna talk to someone, I'll be there."_ Ironically, that had been what had gotten him to stop avoiding the League, until he'd overheard Captian Atom talking to Aquaman.

 _"That kid... Robin, he works for Batman right?"_

 _"Yeah. Why?"_

 _"I've gotta know... How does Batman treat him? Like, Robin's gotta be inferior to him, so how do they work together?"_ Aquaman had instantly beraded Captian Atom, defending Batman's decision to take him on, but the damage had been done.

Robin had started avoiding several members of the League, but that day, he snuck down to Gotham, and hid from the League, eventually, Barry found him, but instead of telling the rest of the League, he took Robin to the manor, had him change into civvies, and took him to meet Wally.

Later that day, when Bruce called Barry, asking if he'd been found, Barry told Bruce that Wally and Dick were playing, admitting that he'd forgotten to call the League, and shortly later protected saying that he wasn't lying, and Robin had decided that Barry was his favorite Leaguer, if you didn't count Bruce.

He landed on the ground, and exited the room, locking the door behind him. He made his way to the Batcomputer, and checked the camera locations again, and found Bruce hadn't added any cameras or bugs since he'd last checked, and he returned to his room.

He pulled out some drawings, and stuffed them into a bag, along with some civvies, that, hopefully, would keep people from realizing who he was. He grabbed his phone, and hacked the cameras outside and stuck them on a loop, before climbing out the window, leaving the keys to his private training room for Bruce.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 _Later..._

Wally knew something was wrong when his uncle showed up early. He jumped to his feet.

"Uncle Barry, what's wrong?" He asked, and Barry looked at him, as though he'd forgotten he was there.

"You've known who Robin is for a long time, right?" He asked, wiping the tears away from his eyes, and when Wally nodded, Barry sighed. "Well, come on then, let's run to his house, there's something for you to see." Instantly, Wally was worried, and a million scenerios shot through his mind as he changed into costume. When he was ready, the duo took off to the Manor.

When they got there, Wally's worry skyrocketed when he saw Alfred trying his best to hide his tears. "Master Wallace, Master Barry, everyone's here. Come downstarirs." They followed the butler down to the Batcave, and they were led to the one room of the Batcave neither had ever entered, and a crowd was gathered around it.

"We're all here." Batman- no, this was Bruce, Wally realized, hearing the heartache in the mans voice- said. "One at a time, the Team first. Line up." Wally looked at the other members of the Team, surprised. "Roy, you too."

"What do you think's going on?" Artemis asked. "GA got a call when we were on patrol, and we went to the Zeta Tube and showed up here! Where are we anyways, Baywatch?"

"Why do you think _I_ would know?" Wally whispered back.

"Because you and the Flash ran in from up there." Artemis nodded with her head at the stairs. "And Batman, Superman, and the rest of the founding seven except Flash who just got here won't let anyone up there."

"You've got me." He replied, catching Clark's warning look. "We're in the Batcave. Batman's base of operations."

"I thought the Batcave was just a myth!" Artemis replied.

"Go in." Batman told them, and Wally turned away from Artemis and pushed the door open, quickly catching sight of the writing all over the walls. After the rest of the Team had entered he shut the door behind him.

 _Inferior to Batman._ He turned and looked at something else. _Why does Batman keep him around, anyways?_ He turned and saw another one. _Batman wouldn't have messed up the Failsafe._ He glanced at Artemis, who was crying. He looked at the next one _Why Robin and not Batman?_ He glanced around at the Team, seeing the stricken look on M'ggan's face.

 _Compared to Batman you mean? He's... nothing really._ He saw the look Superboy was giving it, and Wally's eyes widened when he saw Connor's eyes glowing red.

"Connor!" He said warningly. Connor turned to him, blinking away the heat vision. "M'ggan..." _We're linked._ M'ggan said. _What happened to Robin?_

 _I recognize his handwriting._ Wally said. _But... I had no idea..._ He looked around again. _Robin? Is he... A mini-Batman?_ He glanced at Kaldur, and tears came to his eyes as he saw the next one. _Batman's smarter!_

 _No idea that he hated being compared to Batman?_ Artemis asked. _Me neither. Connor, anything?_

 _I can smell tears, sweat, and a faint trace of blood._ Connor replied.

 _Well, sweat makes sense._ Wally said. _This was Rob's personal training room, not even Bats was allowed in here. Since appearently he hated being compared to Batman, I guess tears makes sense, but blood?_

 _Right here._ Connor touched a part of the wall. _Like he punched it so hard he ended up bleeding._

 _I can't stand to be in here anymore._ Roy said. _To think that we helped cause whatever happened..._ He stormed out of the room, the rest of the Team right behind him, Wally ran out at superspeed to Robin's room, and a heartbeat later his uncle was right behind him.

"Wally, what did you see in there?" Barry asked him. "Wally, you alright?"

"I had no idea..." Wally said. "I was supposed to be his best friend, we were supposed to tell each other everything... Why didn't he say something?"

"Wally." Barry said. "Wally!"

"You'll see when you go in there." Wally said. "Two words... How much of a difference can two words make?" He buried his head in his hands. "Rob... Dick..." Barry gave Wally a hug.

"Whatever happened, it's not your fault." Barry said. "Robin wouldn't do anything impulsively. He'd think about it for several weeks, or maybe even months."

"It is." Wally said. "It's partly my fault. Those walls..." He thought back, remembering the walls covered with words that had all meant one thing. _Batman's better than Robin._ "I wish I'd never said it..."

"Wally." Barry said, trying to figure out something to say. "It couldn't have been that bad... Could it?"

"Go and see for yourself." Wally said. "My gosh... Two words... I wish I'd never said them..." He glanced up and Barry was gone. He returned about five minutes later, tears in his eyes.

"Which one was it, Kid?" He asked.

"Batman's smarter." Wally replied. "I had no idea he hated it..."

"He's always had an issue with it." Barry said. "I can remember when he started avoiding the League because of it, and it caused a few arguments between him and Bats. I had a talk with him, and it worked... Until he overheard Captain Atom say something to Aquaman. He never told me what it was, but it caused him to take off and hide in Gotham for nearly a whole day before I found him. That was the day I introduced him to you."

"He never told me he had an issue with it." Wally said.

"Use your head, Kid." Barry said. "How do you feel with you're compared to me?"

"Like I'm useless." Wally said. "Just because I'm not as fast as you."

"Just because you're not as fast doesn't mean anything." Barry said. "If I recall correctly, you've saved my life a few times. I'm sure Robin's done the same for Batman. You know you don't like being compared to me, why would he like being compared to Batman?"

"I never thought about it." Wally said. "Those two words just slipped out of my mouth before I could think about it."

"Doesn't Bats have some sort of GPS tracker on Robin?" Barry asked.

"I think so." Wally looked up at Barry. "On his belt I think. But, well, Rob's better at hacking than Bats. He could've hidden it from the Batcomputer or something."

"Let's go check anyways." Barry said. "Come on, Wally. You're the fastest boy alive, that means something, doesn't it?" Wally grinned at his uncle, and the two returned to the Batcave. "Bats, GPS tracker of Rob's belt?"

"Here." Batman puched something into Wally's hands. "Bring him back. And hurry, anything could happen to him." Wally nodded and he took off, leaving Barry behind to talk to Bruce.

When he arrived at the spot the GPS tracker said he was, however, what he saw caused him to think only one word, and turn all his optimistic thoughts into negative thoughts.

 _No._


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

He pulled out some drawings, and stuffed them into a bag, along with some civvies, that, hopefully, would keep people from realizing who he was. He grabbed his phone, and hacked the cameras outside and stuck them on a loop, before climbing out the window, leaving the keys to his private training room for Bruce.

**0O

Dick landed on a telephone pole, and pulled out his utility belt. he looked around, before hanging it off the telephone pole. He glanced at it, seriously tempted to take something out in case he needed it, but told himself that he didn't know if Bruce had placed trackers on everything he had.

He leapt off the pole, and looked around for someone about his size to exchange clothes with, and he found a kid about his height and weight.

"Hey, kid, what's your name?" He asked, and the kid turned to him, eyes wide.

"I ain't got nothin' for you to take!" He said. "Nothin'!"

"I'm not going to take anything." Dick said. "I wanted to give you something, I can't keep it anymore."

"Whadda want fer it?" The boy asked.

"Your clothes." Dick said, offering the much nicer clothes he'd grabbed from home. "Trade?" The kid looked at him suspiciously.

"Trade." He agreed, holding his hands out for the clothes, and Dick handed them to him. The boy went and hid in the shadows as he changed, then emerged wearing the nicer clothes. "Thanks. Here ya go." He handed his rags to Dick. "Though I don't know why ya want 'em, they're terrible."

"Thanks." Dick said, waving. "I've got to move along now, have a nice day."

"Wait!" The kid cried as he turned to walk away. "My names' Jason. Jason Todd."

"It was nice meeting you Jason Todd." He said. "My name's-" He stopped for a heartbeat. "Dick West."

"Well, nice trading with'ch, Dick West." Jason said, "See ya." Dick smiled at the boy before leaving and finding a pile of dirt to smaer all over himself to make his homeless impression better, then he hunched over and waited.

About an hour later, he was spotted by Artemis.

"Who are you?" She asked, and he looked up tiredly.

"I ain't got nothin' left for ya to take, ya hear me?" He asked, sounding like an old man. "Ya done taken my children, my grandchildren, my money, my home. Everything. Jus' leave me lone!" She stepped back, eyes wide.

"I'm not here to take anything from you, I just had a question." She said. "You see a boy about this tall-" She motioned to just below her chest. "-skinny, with black hair?"

"Ya gotta be more 'pecific." Dick said. "That's 'bout every boy who came by taday."

"Great." Artemis said. "Well, he typically has a troublemakers grin on his face, and he'd look like he'd just run away."

"Him and a million otha' boys." Dick said. "Sorry, but I ain't seen 'im." Artemis sighed, and turned and walked away. "Why ya so worried 'bout him? He's probably gonna die anyways."

"No, he won't!" Artemis snapped, and he shrunk back slightly, as though she'd scared him. "Sorry, but he wouldn't let himself die. He was my friend, and I said some things to him that hurt his feelings, and I didn't realize. I need to apollogize."

"Well, goos luck findin' him in this city!" Dick said. "See ya later, lady!" Artemis sighed, before walking away, and he barely heard her say three words. "I'm sorry, Robin." Once he knew she was gone, he stood up, and hurried off, keeping his guise as a weak old man with nothing left.

Eventually he reached the homeless shelter, and he crept in with the last batch of the night, and he slept on a hard concrete floor.

The next morning, the news said that the League had been searching Gotham all night for someone, and Robin sighed, before making his way outside and making his way to a soup kitchen, where the food was bland and disgusting, but he forced it down anyways.

He knew Bruce would think he'd get out of Gotham as fast as he could, which convinced him to stay. Bruce's reasoning would be that there was no way Dick could remain hidden from him for longin his own city, and, with the intensity of the search, if Dick had stayed in Gotham, he'd be found soon enough.

He spent the whole day hiding, always knowing where the security cameras were, but never looking at them in case Bruce or someone else was watching. He ate dinner in the soup kitchen, before making his way back to the homeless shelter that night.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N Thanks to all who reviewed, and, as I'm sure you could tell, _no_ , Robin isn't dead. Anyways, sorry for taking so long to update, please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

When he arrived at the spot the GPS tracker said he was, however, what he saw caused him to think only one word, and turn all his optimistic thoughts into negative thoughts.

 _No._

**0O

When Wally returned with the utility belt, and not Robin, aat first everyone assumed that Robin had fought Wally, and had done a 'Batman', but it became abundantly clear that Robin had ditched the utility belt in an attempt to ensure that he didn't return to the manor, giving them a false trail.

Batman gave them a list of things Robin might do, before sending the Team and League out into the city. In the morning, the Team had to go to school, but everyone had to report to Batman about what had happened during the search. Artemis was first.

"I didn't find him, just like the old man said." Artemis said.

"Old man?" Batman asked, wondering if Robin had made himself appear as an old man.

"Yeah, he was wearing ratty clothes, and he was covered in dirt and grime." Artemis said, and she shuddered. "He told me there were a million boys out there fitting Robin's description, and that I wouldn't find him."

"Tell me everything you remember." Batman ordered.

"Well, when I approached him, he ranted about having 'nothing left', and me mentioned children and grandchildren. He seemed to think I was there to hurt him or something." Artemis said. "If I'd thought he'd been lying, I would've attacked him."

"Could you see his eye color?" Batman said.

"He was blind." Artemis said. "I could tell from the way he kept tilting his head as though trying to figure out who I was and where I was."

"So nothing that made him stand out?" Batman asked.

"One thing." Artemis said. "He seemed to have some sort of grudge against everyone alive." Batman nodded. "That, and being right about not finding Robin."

"Alright, go. Send Wally in." Artemis nodded, before leaving.

Later Batman was going through all the information he was given, and realized it was odd Artemis was the only person to see the old man, even though Wally was working in the general area as well. He brought up security cameras, and looked for him, and saw the Flash save him from running into a car.

"Hey! What was dat fo'?" He read his lips, and Barry, with his back to the camera, said something in reply. "There was a car there? Why'd ya let me step in front of it?" Barry said something selse. "Thank ya, I guess. Shoo now." He waved his hands in Barry's general vacinity. With a sigh, Barry took off, and the old man glanced around, before tilting his head, listening for more cars.

Batman clicked on another camera, deciding there was nothing he could do about the ungrateful old man, and focused on looking for his son.

 _Beep!_ He heard an alarm on the Batcomputer, and he clicked on it, before a small smile found it's way to his face. Richard had grabbed clothes with trackers on them, and one of them was telling him that it was within a hundred feet of the main Wayne Enterprises building.

He stood, deciding there was no way that he was going to allow anyone else to check this out, climbed into the Batmobile, and took off. Within minutes, he was at his destination.

He watched the kid, and quickly decided that he didn't walk like Dick, nor he he have the same easygoing attitude. The chances that the kid wearing the clothes being Dick was getting lower by the second, so he decided to do the one true test to determine weither or not this was his son.

He dropped down right in front of him. The boy jumped back, unable to speak, fear shining through his brown eyes, and Batman turned to go, knowing that this wasn't Dick, before an idea entered his mind.

"Where did you get those clothes?" He asked.

"A- a guy." Batman turned around, surprised at his bravery.

"Did you get his name?" Batman asked, and the kid shook his head, and Batman knew he was lying, although he admired the kids bravery. "I can tell you're lying to me. I want a name."

"My names Jason Todd." Batman was honestly surprised the kid- Jason- was still protecting the kid who'd given him the clothes- probably Dick- and was considering training him, despite his background.

"No." Batman said. "Listen up, Jason. I want the name of the guy who gave you these clothes. Now." He narrowed his eyes, and the boy firmly kept his mouth shut for a few more seconds.

"Dick West." Jason held up his hands in surrender, eyes closed tight. "Dick West, 'e said his name was Dick West. Please don't kill me!" Batman shot his grappling hook into the wall, and was soon gone, but Superman was there seconds later.

"Batman doesn't kill." He said, before continuing. "And neither do I. The name he gave you was probably an alias, but thank you for giving us a name."

"What'd 'e do?" Jason asked, but Superman was already gone, and Batman had a name.

"Batman to everyone." He said. "Robin gave at least one pair of his civvies to Jason Todd under the alias Dick West. If you see this Dick West, bring him to the Batcave, do you understand?"

"Yeah." Everyone replied as Batman climbed back into the Batmobile, where he noticed Robin's handwriting. _I'm sorry Bruce._ And a tear fell from each eye as Batman drove home.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

He spent the whole day hiding, always knowing where the security cameras were, but never looking at them in case Bruce or someone else was watching. He ate dinner in the soup kitchen, before making his way back to the homeless shelter that night.

**0O

Dick hated this. He hated pretending to be old, pretending to be blind, hurting Bruce and everyone else. He hated it all.

But he also knew that if he went back, he'd go through everything all over again. He'd known for months that the day he left Bruce behind was coming, and he knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself.

It just hurt him the way they were all hurting.

He pushed all thoughts of his family out of his mind as he slipped into one of the back alleys, straightening slightly, and pondered the possibility of getting a job, before dismissing the job.

If he got a job then Bruce would have access to his fake backstory, and his height, build, and weight, and he would have to go right back and everything would start up again, except he'd be teased for being found when he wanted to stay hidden.

He also knew that he couldn't steal. Bruce and his parents had raised him too good for that, and he couldn't join criminals after fighting them for the past five years of his life, not even for nessessity.

But he hated living off of other peoples generosity. He knew that the soup kitchen that he ate at daily was funded by Bruce, which meant he was still alive thanks to his foster father. He sighed, before subtly hunching his back more and walking towards the soup kitchen, tapping his makeshift cane all over the place.

That night, Dick realized that the League was still focusing on Gotham. He was irriated, but he was able to come up with a solution. In the morning he would hack the Zeta, and make it appear that he went to Star City, before heading to breakfast at the soup kitchen. He just hoped it work.

**0O

It'd been three months since Dick had run away from home, when the search efforts began to change. Every Leaguer started searching only their own city, and avoiding any other cities.

Dick had simi-nice clothes now, and was along the Gotham-Bludhaven highway, trying to get someone willing to take him to Bludhaven. Finally, with a sigh, he turned and started walking. He heard a someone clear their throat, and he turned around.

An elderly man had climbed out of a pickup truck, and had the passenger door open. Dick stood there, and waited for the man to speak.

"I believe you wanted a ride?" The man asked with a british accent. Dick sent him a small smile, before climbing in. "Where is it you were wanting to go, sir?"

"I'm no sir." Dick said, before he realized what else the man had said. "And Bludhaven, or at least as close as you're willing to go."

"Do you have a house there?" The british man asked, and Dick shook his head. "Then why go there, if you have no living quarters?" Dick turned to look at him.

"Cause that's where I'm going to get a house." He replied. "How far are you willing to go?"

"All the way there." The man replied. "Perhaps we ought to introduce ourselves, it is a long ride to Bludhaven, after all."

"Four Enyaw." Dick said, thinking of the Divergent series and Bruce, wondering if he'd connect the subtle dots. Four had changed his name when he left Abnegation to leave his past behind, as Dick was doing, and Enyaw was Wayne spelled backwards. "Yours?"

"Jarvis Penniworth." The british man said. "And I'm hoping to find a job in Bludhaven. Perhaps we can work as a team there?"

"Perhaps." Dick said. "All I know is I haven't gotten sleep in a few days. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not." Jarvis said. "We will speak more when you wake." Dick nodded, aeyes already closing as he entered the peaceful bliss called sleep.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N Don't worry, I'm still alive! Here's chapter five, for your patience. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

"Yeah." Everyone replied as Batman climbed back into the Batmobile, where he noticed Robin's handwriting. _I'm sorry Bruce._ And a tear fell from each eye as Batman drove home.

**0O

Dick had been missing for a month and a half when Four Enyaw made his first appearance in the national news. He was a "programming genius" who would protect your computer from hackers for only "five dollars a month", and he was expected to "release new software involving computers within the month".

It wasn't too long before Enyaw's money piled up, and he started a legit company, called "Enyaw Tech", and something about Four Enyaw made Clark think. He'd met Four a couple times, and, using his X-ray vision, he'd seen all the scars and injuries the Four had, none of which matched up with the man he was supposed to be. The scars could be from 'living on the streets' (which he had done, but Clark wasn't sure how long)

But what really bugged Clark was how Four acted around Clark... Clark's super-hearing allowed him to hear Four's heartbeat, and he knew that he'd lied about almost everything. About living in an orphanage until he ran away, fooling around with tech until he understood how most of it worked (that'd been a half-lie). About living in Bludhaven all of his life. About learning programming through a 'stroke of luck'.

The only things Four really told the truth about was his parents dying when he was really young, and running into his butler when he was 'down in his luck'. Even his name seemed to be a lie, and Four had admitted that he'd left his birth name behind when he was younger (truth), and he'd randomly chosen his new name (lie).

"Can I trust him, Clark?" Bruce asked him.

"In the whole interview, he told the truth only three times, and I could barely tell when he was lying." Clark admitted. "When it comes down to the name he chose for himself, he's extremely protective of the way people view it. I think you can trust him, but be extremely careful about believing what he tells you."

"How many times did he lie during the interview?" Bruce pressed.

"Fifteen times." Clark said. "He lied about chosing his name at random, Bruce. He's trying to send a message to someone with it. I think-"

"Clark, how many times do I have to tell you, until I find Dick-" Bruce started, but Clark interrupted him.

"I'm only asking you to look him up on your computer!" He said. "If he lied to me, maybe we can find out who he is using it. What his past was like."

"It wouldn't be on there." Bruce said. "He admitted himself that he changed his name. Unless he can hack my computer itself- and he won't be able to- he won't be on there."

"Bruce!" Clark said. "I know that you're upset about losing Dick, but maybe it's time to move on, train somebody. Maybe that Jason Todd kid who tried so hard to protect him?"

"You do know that he doesn't know who I am, right?" Bruce asked. "Unless he figures it out on his own, I'm not replacing Dick. And I'm not going to tell him, either. Have a good day, Clark." Clark sighed, before climbing to his feet.

"I'm sorry I can't get you to see reason." He said.

"It's my fault he left." Bruce said. "If only I knew what'd been going on..."

"Maybe you should've asked." Both men looked up to see Barry leaning in the doorway. "Also, I passed Jason on the way up, I hope neither of you said anything stupid."

"Nope." Clark said.

"Ok, good." Barry said. "Bruce, you did you honestly think that there was no way he was going to be compared to you? It wasn't just your fault because you didn't know what was going on, or how much it affected him. It was more my fault for not reaching out to him more."

"You knew?!" Bruce asked. "And you didn't say something?"

"Dick asked me not to say anything to you." Barry said. "He thought he could tough it out, and eventually he'd be seen for who he was, what he'd done, instead of being identified against you."

"I suppose you didn't compared him to Bruce?" Clark asked.

"You mean the guy who let us think he was dead just to show up at the last minute and save the world?" Barry asked. "No, I actually preferred him to you. Besides, remember when I used to work alongside Jay? I went through something similiar until he retired."

"You do know how young Dick is, right?" Bruce asked. "He's barely fifteen, and he left because of the way the League treated him. I can't believe you didn't say a word to me!"

"What you can't believe is that you didn't see it yourself." Barry said. "His Team, do you have them working on this too?"

"It was suspended." Bruce said.

"That's why Wally was so upset." Barry said. "Other than the obvious, his best friend is missing. He feels extremely guilty over two words, Bruce. I can only help so much."

"... Fine." Bruce said. "Get the Team together tomorrow, I'll be there."

"Alright, if you say so." Barry said. "How am I going to get Wally out of the house? He barely even leaves for school, and he refuses to run with me."

"... Tell him that the Team needs him, and mention me." Bruce said. "That should be enough to get him moving, if only long enough for him to get to the clubhouse."

"Alright. Thanks, Bruce." Barry said. "See ya." He walked out, and Bruce turned and gave Clark a pointed look.

"I'm leaving too. See you, Bruce." Clark walked out of the room, and Bruce pulled up a picture taken by Alfred, tears wellling in his eyes.

The picture had been taken the day before Dick had run away, and the boy was grinning and laughing like nothing was wrong.


	7. Sorry Guys

Guys, I'm sorry.

Originally I was just going to pause these fics for the summer because I wasn't going to be on my computer then school started back up and I realized that I'd lost the thing that I keep all of these fics on.

There are one or two I can continue without it, mainly because I didn't write up anything else up on them, and I could start from stratch (and to be honest, I have NO idea where that's going).

But the rest I had several chapters planned and now without the information I have nothing to go over for myself, much less all of you.

I'll try to continue some of these where I left off, but it'll be hard after so long without really thinking about the fics and little to no idea about where I was going with them.

I'm not just asking for your forgiveness, I'm also asking for patience.

And please let me know via the reviews which story you'd like me to focus on.

~Oreo out


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